Room to dine under the stars with Fast

The surprising outcome of being obliged to conduct all social life outdoors, is the discovery that, despite some meteorological challenges, there is often more joy to be had doing things in the open air. A winter fair under strip lights and stagnant air becomes an outdoor market, with all the attendant festive finger and toe warming activities. A school concert becomes a music festival, blankets scattered, small children unchained and free movement to and from the bar. Shift the art studio outdoors and nature lays its inspiration at your feet.

And then there’s the most ubiquitous of al fresco activities – dining. Commercially, outdoor dining has boomed. Within the States, 18,000 businesses are reported to have added tables outside over the past two years while OpenTable data says 82% of US diners want restaurants to continue to increase their outdoor seating. On urban pavements and private gardens across the world, gathering around a table to eat, under open skies, is the welcome legacy of the pandemic. When it comes to accommodating these new habits, we are turning to outdoor furniture companies like Italy’s Fast to refine the experience and use problem-solving, gap-plugging design expertise to iron out the bumps.

'The desire to eat outdoors is not limited to the warmest seasons: summer or spring. Even in the colder months people decide to eat outdoors,' muses Marco Levrangi, CEO of Fast. 'This is why many in the world of hospitality are restyling their spaces and expanding the external ones. The outdoor experiential level must necessarily align with that of the indoor. This is expressed in a rethinking of outdoor furniture, an adaptation in terms of shapes and materials to cope with new uses.'

Not that Fast, which has traditionally used aluminium as its material of choice, needs to change its business plan too much to fit in. With over 25 years of expertise in furnishing the great outdoors, its evolution towards an ever-broadening, and ever more functional collection of outdoor furniture is a constant. The brand’s latest offering includes customised sizing and new tops for some of its classic tables, including Allsize, now in either Iroko, which is an African wood particularly suitable for outdoor use, treated with water-repellent oils but retaining an inviting warmth usually associated with interiors, or Corten-effect stoneware, which is naturally scratch-resistant and easy to maintain, while bringing industrial chic to the table.

Building weather resistance into outdoor dining furniture has, however, become more imperative now that the season never ends, and the newly expanded choice of table tops at Fast is responding to this. 'Our goal is to create outdoor furniture that is comfortable and resistant to atmospheric agents but that guarantees an indoor experience,' says Levrangi. 'For dining, in particular, we are offering innovative finishes – such as the NaturAll finish which recreates the warm tactility of wood while being aluminium, and textures – such as stoneware and wood, which give the main material a touch of warmth and adapt more easily to the needs of outdoor dining.' A protective primer, specifically developed for environments with high salinity, such as northern Europe – where people enjoy eating outdoors even when the season is colder – is also applied. It’s about finding a balance between hardiness and tactility.

Another convenience that Fast has identified as an upgrade to the outdoor dining experience is the presence of additional dining furniture to complete the exterior room set up. Ninfea is a new range of sideboards made from painted aluminium and built to live outside; they can store dedicated tableware, close to hand. The armchair, Ria, meanwhile, comes newly with a padded backrest and cushioned seat, introducing increasingly comfortable table lounging. 'All the proposals aim to contribute to our enjoyment of time in nature,' says Alberto Lievore, who has authored many of Fast's most recent designs, ‘And what better feast for the senses than staying with our friends around a table... enjoying the open space?' With this much consideration to our comfort on offer, we don’t need to be asked twice.

© Architonic